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Iraq Veterans Turn Field Training Into Biotrauma Compassionate Care



After serving in Iraq as the first Marines ever trained to collect, catalogue and clean up dead bodies in a foreign battle zone, fellow soldiers Ryan Sawyer and Ben Lichtenwalner turned their training into a calling. Together they formed Biotrauma (http://www.biotrauma.com), a compassionate death scene clean up service that will be featured tonight on Atlanta's CBS affiliate WGCL-TV 46 News (http://www.cbs46.com) following CSI: NY at 11 p.m.



Just prior to shipping out, Sawyer and Lichtenwalner learned their unit's task would be to clean up the dead after battle. The gruesome task might have spooked others, but not them.



"We saw it as an important part of our overall presence in the war," Sawyer said. "Our job was to return our fallen brothers to their families. We were honored."



Upon arriving in Iraq, however, the scope of their task grew into a humanitarian one. Their services were employed for any dead body, friendly, enemy or innocent by-stander. "On the field, there was no discrimination," Lichtenwalner said. "You learn to treat every casualty with respect."



Sawyer and Lichtenwalner use that respect as the basis for Biotrauma, which is located in Sawyer's hometown of Gainesville, Ga. Their mission is to offer the most professional and efficient clean up of a violent or unattended death scene by restoring it to its original condition.



"The idea for Biotrauma really caught fire a few months after we returned," Lichtenwalner said. "One day I got a call from Ryan, and we saw a need for the kind of service we could provide," he said.



In addition to their extensive military training and hands-on experience, the two took a 40 hour course upon returning home to become certified hazardous waste operators. Their designation came with a focus in crime scene clean up. The two have now been in business for over 3 years.



"The driving force behind Biotrauma has been to help families," Sawyer said. "After dealing with a horrible tragedy, whether an accident, murder or suicide, the family should be saved the emotional stress of dealing with the remains. That's where we can help."



Dealing with human remains also carries a risk of exposure to several diseases. "A crew like ours uses biohazard clean up (http://www.biotrauma.com/about/aboutus.php) procedures that eliminate that threat."



Lichtenwalner says the hardest part of their business is education. "Most people who are victims of these terrible tragedies don't even know our services exist," he said. "And the fact that most homeowners' insurance policies cover an expense like Biotrauma makes it an easy choice for those in need."



Dealing with friends and family after a horrible accident can be difficult, but that is where Sawyer and Lichtenwalner feel Biotrauma stands apart from other companies in their field.



"While we were in Iraq, we performed ceremonies for fallen soldiers before they were sent home," Lichtenwalner said. "We were face-to-face with comrades of fallen servicemen, and we learned first-hand the impact that death can have on a person," he said.



Sawyer agrees. "It's more than a crime scene clean up. We help families put their lives back together so they can began to grieve, and ultimately, heal," he said. "We take our calling very seriously."






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